Straffan GFC

Infobox GAA club
club gaa = Straffan
crest =
irish = Teach Srafáin
county = Kildare
nickname =
colours = White with Blue sash
grounds =
founded = 1885
honours =
pattern_la= |pattern_b=_blueleftsash |pattern_ra=
leftarm=ffffff |body=ffffff |rightarm=ffffff |shorts=0000ff |socks=0000ff
|

Straffan is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland, which played a leading role in establishing the games in the county.

History

GAA official Tom Cribben claimed in 1934 that Straffan had kicked the first ball in county Kildare, the ball being brought over from Clongowes by Tom ‘Rabbit’ Delaney. Local tradition records games on Straffan estate, now the K Club, between insiders (estate workers) and outsiders (the villagers). Cribben also says the first man to throw in a ball to set two teams in motion under the GAA code was a Straffan man, Edward Kelly. Straffan is one of eight clubs, four in Kilkenny and four in Kildare, to participate in the first series of Gaelic football matches ever played on February 15 1885. Straffan JL Carews played Sallins. RIC records indicate Straffan had 45 members in 1890, with officers listed as James Ennis, Edward Melia, James Pitts and Pat Leonard.

Gaelic Football

Straffan’s greatest achievement was the Intermediate Championship of 1966, with Tony Kane and Thomas “Cub” Walsh featuring on a team that was promoted to senior. Area side with Celbridge, St Wolstan’s fought a semi-final battle with Ballyteague in 1974 that took three matches to decide and another in 1975 with Clane that took two matches. They also lost the 1976 quarter-final in a replay.

After being beaten in two successive finals, Straffan managed to win the Junior B Championship in 1986. A lean period followed, however with the club having no notable successes in the 1990s. A revival occurred with the appointment of Billy Farrell as first team manager in 1999, and the team won the Junior B championship in 2001. 2005 was a reasonably successful year for the club, with the first team gaining promotion to division 2 of the Kildare Senior Football League, while the second team also won promotion to division 2 of the Junior Football League. The hunt for a Junior A Championship is ongoing, though, and current manager Kieran McManmon will be hopeful for a successful season in 2006.

Straffan fields 2 adult teams at the moment and forms St Edward’s along with Ardclough and Rathcoffey for underage purposes and St Edwards fields teams at all levels from Under 9 to Under 21.

Camogie

Anne Kearney-Hughes and Fiona Farrell revived camogie in Straffan in 1984 (the previous club ceased in 1955) with the registered colours tangerine and black. Liz Kane, Patricia O’Brien and Yvonne Farrell, members of the 1994 junior championship winning team, played for Kildare.

Honours

*Intermediate F Champions 1966.
*Junior F Champions 1946.
*Jack Higgins Cup 1964.
*Junior A F Champions 1964.
*Junior B F Champions 1959, 1986, 2001.
*Intermediate F League 1937, 1960, 1964.
*Junior F League 1929, 1937.
*Junior Camogie championship 1962 (combined with Straffan),
*Junior Camogie Championship 1994. Junior camogie league 1993, 1994.
*As St Wolstan’s F team with Celbridge
**Kildare Senior F semi-finalists 1972 and 1975 (beaten in replays on both occasions).
**Under –21 F championship 1985.
*Dowling Cup 2007.

Bibliography

* Cradle Days And Winning Ways - A Centenary History Of Straffan GFC 1886 – 1986 by Hilary Allen:. (Maynooth, Published By Straffan GFC 1986), 76pp.
* Kildare GAA: A Centenary History, by Eoghan Corry, CLG Chill Dara, 1984, ISBN 0-9509370-0-2 hb ISBN 0-9509370-1-0 pb
* Kildare GAA yearbook, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 2000- in sequence especially the Millennium yearbook of 2000
* Soaring Sliothars: Centenary of Kildare Camogie 1904-2004 by Joan O'Flynn Kildare County Camogie Board.

External links

* [http://kildare.gaa.ie/ Kildare GAA site]
* [http://www.clubgaa.ie/kildare/ Kildare GAA club sites]
* [http://www.hoganstand.com/Kildare/ Kildare on Hoganstand.com]